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NILES -- Ideal weather conditions greeted fans at 717 Credit Union Field on Thursday as the Mahoning Valley Scrappers played host to Williamsport. Blue skies and sunshine gave way to a cool and comfortable evening for a Buck Night crowd of 2,336 fans.
The proverbial black cloud that has hovered over the Scrappers throughout the 2026 season also gave way to sunshine, as the Scrappers defeated Williamsport 2-1 thanks to a ninth-inning, walk-off error.
With the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the ninth in a 1-1 game, Scrappers designated hitter Maddox Mihalakis hit a pop-up near the pitcher's mound that seemingly was going to send the game into sudden death. Instead, three Williamsport infielders converged on the ball and a miscommunication allowed the ball to fall between the players, scoring the winning run.
On paper, Thursday's game looked as though it could provide fans with plenty of scoring early on. Scrappers starter Alexander Llinas entered the game with an 8.10 ERA through four starts. Williamsport starter Evan Grimes started five games before Thursday and owned a 5.14 ERA at the start of the night.
Instead, Llamas and Grimes provided a classic pitching duel through five innings. Neither pitcher allowed a run, and Grimes didn't allow a hit through five frames.
However, Williamsport broke through in the sixth. Llamas exited the game after loading the bases on a hit and two walks to start the inning. Scrappers reliever David Johnson entered the game, and Williamsport scored a run on a sacrifice fly to take a 1-0 lead. Johnson then recorded a strikeout and a groundout to limit the damage.
Llamas ended up working five-plus innings, giving up just the one run on five hits with six strikeouts.
The Scrappers had runners on first and second in the bottom of the sixth with two outs courtesy of a hit batter and a walk. Mike Young then collected the Scrappers' first hit of the night, but on the play Davis Mauzy was thrown out at the plate to end the inning.
Grimes worked seven full innings, giving up just one hit while recording nine strikeouts. He threw 99 pitches.
With Grimes out of the game in the eighth, the Scrappers broke through off of Williamsport reliever Joel Tornero. Jayden Hylton greeted Tornero with a double. Hylton scored on a Mihalakis single, tying the game at 1-1.
The game remained tied until the bottom of the ninth when the Scrappers took advantage of the Crosscutters' blunder.
The Scrappers and Crosscutters conclude their three-game series tonight at 7:05.